Brickyard pre-race notes

When Jeff Burton captured the pole for the Brickyard 400 and Clint Bowyer qualified second, it marked the first time in the 13-year history of the race that teammates had been on the front row together.

It also affirmed that the resurgence of Richard Childress Racing. A year ago, none of the three RCR cars made the Chase for the Nextel Cup. This year, Burton was third entering Sunday’s race, while Kevin Harvick was fifth and Bowyer was 19th, second among the ’06 rookie class.

Burton gives Childress much of the credit. Childress has a long history of success as a NASCAR team owner (Dale Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, Robby Gordon) but not much went right in 2005. Harvick was 14th, Burton 18th and Dave Blaney 26th. Blaney was replaced by Bowyer for 2006. Burton, who left Roush Racing midway through the 2004 season to join Childress, is having his best season since 2000.

“Richard has changed every department,” said Burton. “I’m talking about even merchandising and marketing. Everything has been changed. The things that were changed were changed correctly. It’s easy to change stuff, damn hard to change it right.

“Richard has done a phenomenal job of taking what was a company last year that really couldn’t put a team in the top 10 to honestly having a shot for having two and with that, with some good luck, Clint would have a shot, too.”

Kenseth mum on Stewart

Matt Kenseth, who had a run-in with Tony Stewart early this season at the Daytona 500, refused to be drawn into bashing Stewart this weekend. Kenseth was asked if he thought Stewart was taking it upon himself to the Justice of the Peace in policing young drivers.

“I don’t have any comment on that,” said Kenseth.

The questions continued about Kenseth’s reaction to Stewart running Clint Bowyer into the wall after Stewart thought Bowyer driving too aggressively too early in the race two weeks ago at Pocono.

“I still don’t have any comment on that,” said Kenseth.

Bowyer, too, said he didn’t want to beat a dead horse when asked about Stewart, but he did offer a general opinion on what’s happening on the track.

“Definitely we’re in a dangerous sport, and we have to respect that,” said Bowyer. “Things happen out there on accident that can possibly injure or kill somebody. When they’re on purpose, that’s when you’ve got to be concerned, you know, point-blank.”

Chaffin’s car is owned by Race El Paso and featured a paint scheme that featured a smiling chili pepper and sunburst on the hood with the slogan “El Paso: Sun, Salsa, Smiles.”

There wasn’t much to smile about in El Paso last week. Heavy rain caused extensive flooding, and an estimated 1,500 people evacuated their homes.

“Chad qualifying is a bit of good news for a community which has had a lot of tough hurdles this past week,” El Paso communications manager Pifas Silva said in a statement. “This is giving us a sense of pride.”

Chaffin is not from El Paso, he is from Smyrna, Tenn., but the veteran Busch Series and Craftsman Truck driver was selected by Race El Paso president Gregg Jackson to drive in the Brickyard.

He had to qualify in order to enter the race, and he was successful. However, Chaffin went to the back of the field because of an engine change.

The car is sponsored by Brut and Citigroup. According to the El Paso Times, all proceeds from sponsorships and donations will go to the El Paso Diabetes Association.

NASCAR goes HBO

The Grand Marshal of the Brickyard 400 was Chris Noth.

Chris Noth?

It’s unlikely many NASCAR fans are able to identify Noth, an actor who is best known for the role of Mr. Big in Sex and The City and as Detective Mike Logan in (Law and Order.)

Local boy comes home? No, Noth was born in Madison, Wis.

Big race fan? Not really. He took a few high-speed laps around the track as a passenger in a Richard Petty Driving Experience stock car on Saturday and said: “This is the first time I’ve done anything like this since I was 14 and took my mom’s GTO out . . . I didn’t really understand what (this race) was, but I’m going to be here every year now.”

So why was Noth the Grand Marshal? Here’s a thought. Law and Order is on NBC-TV, and the Brickyard 400 was on NBC-TV, and, well, there you go.

The national anthem was performed by singer/actress Kelly Rowland, formerly of Destiny’s Child and currently a successful solo artist. Moreover, Rowland co-founded The Survivor Foundation, which benefits Hurricane Katrina and Rita victims. She also has been involved in raising funds and awareness for AIDS prevention and research.